Electric toaster



Nov. 25, 1941. P. J. MC'CULLOUGH 9 ELECTRIC TOAS'I'ER Filed May 27, 1959Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR PAUL J. Mc CULLOUGH ATTORNEY NOV. 25, 1941. P, JMCCULLQUGH 2,264,093 I ELECTRIC TOASTER Filed May 27, 1959 5Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR PAUL J. MCCULLOUGH AT TORNEY NOV. 25, 1941. P, JMccULLQUGH 2,264,093

ELECTRIC TOASTER Filed May 27, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 45 INVENTOR 44 PAULJ. MCCULLOUGH 5 56/ BY @417 n AT ORNEY Patented Nov. 25, 1 941 ELECTRICTOASTER Paul J. McCullough, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Joseph Pavel ka,St. Louis, Mo.

Application May 27, 1939, Serial No. 276,036

22 Claims.

The invention relates to electric heating devices such as breadtoasters, although various features of the invention may be used insandwich grills, waffle irons and other cookers. The bread toasterillustrated in the drawings as embodying the invention, includes thestructure illustrated, described and claimed in my earlier filedapplication Serial No. 208,782 filed May 19, 1938, of which this is acontinuation in part. The present application also includes somefeatures in addition to the disclosures in my earlier application.

Such a toaster usually comprises a heating chamber and a basket orcarrier therein for the bread slice, which carrier may be raised andlowered when bread is to be inserted in the device or toast is to beremoved therefrom. One

object of the present invention is to facilitate the manual manipulationof such a carrier.

Preferably such a toaster includes means automatically determining thetoasting period and another object of the invention is to accommodatethe manual lifting of the toast for visual inspection at any time duringthe toasting operation without interfering with the control mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to retain the carrier in elevatedposition automatically when once so raised so that only one hand isnecessary to remove the toast..

Another object of the invention is to effect a visual indication of thecompletion of the toasting operation by automatically projecting theedge of the toast slightly beyond the housing while retaining theremainder of the toast within the housing to keep it hot, at the sametime providing for the manual elevation, when desired, of a substantialportion of the slice of toast above the housing so it may be removedreadily. Another object of the invention is to control the toastprojecting mechanism so that the amount of the toast projectedautomatically may be varied as desired by the user.

Another object of the invention is to secure the production of fairlyeven results from successive heating operations irrespective ofvariation in the initial temperature of the cooker, and to accomplishthis by varying the duration of the heating period in accordance withthe temperature in the heating chamber but without changing thesuccessive manual settings of the timing mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide for production of toast ofdifferent degrees of crispness, as desired,

by limiting the manual movement of the setting mechanism independentlyof the mechanism for obtaining constant results as referred to above.

The toaster is provided with a timing mecha- I times sets of theclockwork device and other elements of the toaster will vary so that therelation between the operating spring and the other parts is notuniform, and it is a' further object of the invention to provide for theready coordination of the spring and other parts of the mechanism to theend that the completed product may be'uniform in operation. r

Similar toasters utilizing high and "low-"heat circuits have includedswitches having a plurality of switch terminals selectively engaged whenthe machine is changed from high to low heat or vice versa. Anotherobject of the invention is to eliminate these switches and a substantialquantity of wiring required for the same. v I

These and other detail objects of the invention as will appear from thefollowing description are attained by the structure illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which- I Figure 1 is a side view and alongitudinal section through the toaster.

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the parts contained in the mechanismchamber, the bottom plate of the toaster being removed.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary bottom view showing some of the" detailsapparent in Figure 2 but drawn to an enlarged scale and with theoverlying part eliminated to more clearly illustrate the structure.

Figure 4 is a vertical longitudinal section through the control end ofthe toaster and is taken on the section line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a vertical transverse section taken on the section line 55of Figure4.

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken on the section line 6-6 of Figure5.

Figure '7 is a bottom view of the control end of the toaster showing theprojector adjusting button as it appears to the user.

Figure 8 is a vertical transverse section corresponding to Figure 5 butshowing the toast projecting parts in a different position.

Figure 9 is a fragmentary bottom view corresponding to Figure 2 butshowing the parts in a different position.

/ Figure 10 isv a vertical transverse section through the terminalcontrol end of the toaster and is taken on the line |8||l of Figure 2.

Figure 11 is a. detail vertical section through the clockwork device andis taken on line of Figure 2.

Figure 12 is a wiring diagram for the heater circuit.

The toaster casing includesa bottom wall I,

end walls 2 and-'3, side walls 4 and and aitop plate spaced a shortdistance inwardly from end wall 2 and has bread supporting arms |2extending longitudinally of the heating chamber between the middleheating element 9 and the side heating elements 8 and I0 respectively.Plate" I hasoutturned flanges |3 at top and bottom perforated to slideon stationary guide rods I4.

A crank shaft I5 is Journaled in a bracket |6 mounted on end wall 2 andincludes a loop crank arm I! and a single crank arm |8. The outturnedend, I9 of crank I8 is slidably received in a Z- shaped bracket 26projecting from carrier plate A handle 2| is fixed on the outer end ofcrank I5 and may be rotated manually to rotate the crank and therebyraise and lower the bread carrier from the lower position shown inFigure 8 to the upper position shown in Figures 4 and 5. A handle 22.corresponding in appearance to handle 2| is fixed to end wall 3. may becarried by handles 2| and 22 irrespective or the angular position ofhandle 2|.

A link 23 slidably engages the outer end of the loop crank arm I! andextends downwardly through partition 1 into the mechanism chamber whereit is connected to the outer end portion q ..-i'; s.. s

ds behind; a naming, lug 26, there -e-iz g up-throng partition 1, seatedagainst the adjacent casing wall 5 (Fig. 10). Spring 24-25-2| isdistorted to exert a thrust in the direction indicated by the arrow A(Figs. 5

and 8)' and this thrust tends to pull link 23 r downwardly rotatingcrank l5 to raise the outer end IQ of arm |6and elevate the breadcarrier (Figs. 4 and 5). When crank I5 is rotated manually by handle 2|the outer end 28 of arm 24 rides over the upwardly inclined bottom 29 of'a pocket member 38 (Figs. 2 and 4) and upon passing the outer end ofbottom 29 is caught upon the latch L and held temporarily againstdownward movement in the direction of the arrow A.

The elongated hook-like link 23 connecting crank arm I I with spring arm24 permits handle 2| to be rotated manually at anytime to elevate thetoast carrier without attending movement of arm 24.

The timing of the toasting operation is controlled by a combination ofclockwork and a thermostat associated therewith. A bell crank is pivotedat 32 (Fig. l) to a stationary bar 33.

The horizontal leg 3| of the bell crank extends through end wall 2 andis provided with a button 34 for depressing the horizontal arm andthereby swinging the vertical arm 35 in an anti-clockwise direction. Thelower end of arm 35 extends through partition plate 1 into the mechanismThe toaster g 24 of a wire spring, the body 25 of the other end of'chamber and is connected to the outer end of a horizontal lever 36 (Fig.2) pivoted at 31. A tension spring 38, anchored at 33. exerts a pull onlever 36 and the force of this pull may be varied by shifting the leverand spring connecting link 4|] to different notches 4| in the lever.

A wire 42 has a lost motion connection to the outer end of lever 36 andto a strip of insulation 43,'-;-and.two shorter wires 44 (Fig. 10)connect st'r.ip.-.i43 witlrvertically spaced switch blades 45 and 46,each having an individual contact button 4,|a disposed to engage acorresponding stationary contactbutton 48 on arms 49 and 5|! insulatedfrom ea ch other.

The arrangement for closing the switch and placing the timing mechanismin operating condition involves the use of a clockwork escapementmechanism indicated at C and including a driving gear 5| and anactuating arm 52 therefor held in frictional contact with the gear by aspring 53 (Fig. 11), Arm 52 is detachably connected to lever 36 by a barlink 54 which extends through a slot in an upstanding flange 55 on lever36.

When bell crank arm 3| is depressed and bell crank arm 35 moves to theright (Figs. 1 and 2) the element of flange 55 which forms the outer endof the slot in the fiange rides over, the edge of link 54 and enters anotch 56 in the link which is thrust in a clockwise direction by spring51. Further movement of lever 36 overcomes the friction of spring 53 andpushes clock arm 62 to the'right and the parts take the position shownin Figure 9. Upon release of the manual pressure upon button 34, spring38 acts to slowly return lever 36, link 54 and arm 52 to the originalposition shown in Figure 2, this movement being retarded by theclockwork escapement.

A support member '68 is mounted upon hOrizontal partition plate I nearone end of the heating char'nber" and extends upwardly substantiallythroughout 'the heighth of the chamber and diagonallffacrossone cornerthereof (Figs. 1, 5

if t

A bi-metal thermostatic strip 6| is secured at its upper end 62 to theupper part of support member 66 and its free lower end carries a rigidfinger 63 projecting downward through a slot 64 in plate 1 into the pathof movement of the inclined edge 65 of the left hand end of link 54.Aslink 54 moves to the left its inclined edge 65 strikes finger 63 andthe latter is pressed to the left until it engages the rear edge ofslot64, which edge consists of two elements 66 and 61 disposed, at an obtuseangle to each other.

If the toaster is cold when the toasting operation is started, thecooking of the first piece of toast will be accompanied by a relativelyslight heating up of support plate 60 and thermostat 6|, neverthelessthe latter will distort somewhat and move from the solid line positionindicated at 63 to the adjacent dot-and-dash position indicated at 63aby the time the edge 65 of link 54 moves to .the position indicated inFigure 3. Upon link edge 65 engaging finger 63 and moving it againstslot edge 66 the latter will cam finger 63 back to the full lineposition indicated, thus affording link 54 greater travel and acorresponding extension of the toasting period as is quired to cook thefirst slice of toast to the extent desired.

Upon the insertion of another piece of toast at a reasonably shortperiod after the termination of the pr v t a ing operation, thermostat6| W111 be warm enough to immediately move its finger to the dotted lineposition indicated at 63c and as the toasting operation continues thethermostat will reach a temperature substantially higher than that itreached in the first operation and will move over to the positionindicated at 6312. As link 54 moves to the left its edge 65 will strikefinger 63 substantially sooner than'in the previous operation and theinclination of slot edge 61 is such that finger 83 will not be movedrearwardly but will immediately effect movement of link 54 to disengageflange 55 and free lever 36 and terminate the toasting operation. Thelength of subsequent toasting operations will be determined by theposition of the thermostat Preferably the toaster is of the high andlow" heat type in which two circuits are provided,

three for cooking the bread and one for maintaining the toaster, and anytoast therein, warm for an indefinite period after the toastingoperation is completed.

Previous toasters of this general type have utilized a plurality ofrotary switches for obtaining this result and reference is made toPatent 2,070,290 issued to the present applicant on February 9, 1937,and to Patent 2,112,422 issued to the present applicant, and another, onMarch 29, 1938, as illustrating and describing switch constructions ofthis type. One of the objects of the present invention is to simplifythe construction by combining the heating elements 8, 9 and I and switcharms 49 and 58 and the input connections thereto, so that the need forsuch rotary switches may be avoided. v,

The terminals and II are arranged for the usual cord socket member.

The current conducting parts between terminals I0 and II are arranged sothat heaters 8, 9 and III are wired in series when contacts 41 and 48are spaced apart, and are wired in parallel when contacts 41 and 48engage. To this end the series circuit leads from terminal 10 throughbar I2 (Fig. 10) post I3, heater 8, post I4, bar I5, post I6, heater 9,post'TI, bar I8, post 19, heater I 9, post 88, bar BI to terminal II.This circuit is indicated by following the letters a in Figure 12.

parallel circuit, or high heat circuit, for heater I0 passes through theother switch blade and arm, and the parallel or high heat circuit forheater 9 passes through both switch blades and their arms.

7 With this construction the usual rotary switch, and .a substantialamount of wire therefor, is com pletely eliminated and the high and lowheat control is obtained by the double blade'switch correspondinggenerally to that previously used in addition to the rotary switch.

The toaster includes means for manually varying the toasting period toproduce light, medium or dark toast. This adjustment comprises thebutton 85 projecting from the end of the casing and arranged to rotate acam 86 (Figs. 4 and 5) When buttons 41 and 48 engage, the heatercircuits are in parallel and the circuit for heater 8 (as indicated bythe letters b in Figure 12) will extend from terminal I8 through bar I2,post I3, heater 8, post 14, bar I5. The circuit for heater 9 (asindicated by letters 0 in Figure 12) will extend from terminal I0through switch blade 48, arm 50, bar 18, post 'II, heater 9, post I6,bar I5, arm 49, blade and terminal I I. The circuit for heater ID (asindicated by letters 11 in Figure 12) will extend from terminal I0through blade 46, arm 50, post I9, heater III, post 89, bar 8I'toterminal H.

Thus it will appear that the series circuit, or

low heat circuit, extends from terminal III through all three heaters toterminal II without passing through any of the switch blades. parallelcircuit, or'high heat circuit, for heater 8 passes through one switchblade and arm, the

The a which bears against the downwardly facing shoulder of a plate 81pivoted at 88 and having an upwardly facing edge 89 projecting into thepath of movement of bell crank arm 3| as indicated by theelongated slot32. When cam 88 is inthe position shown in Figure 5, plate 81 is initslowermost position and the bell crank may be moved anti-clockwise tothe maximum degree, moving clock arm 52 (Fig. 9) to its extreme righthand position and providing link 54 and its inclined edge with maximumtravel before contacting thermostat finger 83 and disengaging the switchcontrol lever 36. high point of the cam will lift plate 81 and reducethe extent of the downward movement ofbell crank arm 3 I.

When lever 36 is freed from link 54 and moves 'to the left, it mbves rod98 (Figs. 2, 4 and 9) to the left and the outer end of this rod slidesup the inclined bottom of pocket member 38 and pushes the end of springarm 24 off of ledge L permitting the spring arm to move in acounterclockwise direction and, through link 23 and crank I5, raise thetoast carrier to project the upper-end of the toast beyond the casing.Theextent of this projection may be manually controlled by shiftinglever 9I (Figs. 1, 4 and 7) and an inclined stop 92 carried on the outerend of the lever and movable transversely of the toaster bottom plate Ias lever 9I is shifted. Obviously when stop 92 is in the position shownin Figure 5 the outer end 28 of arm 24 may approach the bottom plate ofthe toaster and this will mean the maximum upward movement ,of crankarmv I8 and the bread carrier, permitting the toast slices to project topoints indicated at dotted lines T in Figure 8. If the slide is moved tothe position shown in Figure 8 it contacts with the end 28 of arm 24when the latter is in its highest position and there will be noautomatic elevation of the bread carrier when the toasting operation isfinished. Intermediate adjustments. of

stop 92 will provide for upward projection of the toast accordingly. Abutton 93 depends from the outer end of lever 9| through a slot 94inbottom plate I and the shank of the button is received in any one of.the slots 94a extending at right angles tothe length of .slot 94. Bypressing upwardly on button 93 a recess 95 on its inner face is alinedwith plate I and the button and lever may be moved to differentadjustments in which it will be retained by the projection of its shankinto the corresponding slot 94a when pressure on the button is released.

Operation.-To begin a toasting operation the user will rotate handle 2Ito the horizontal position shown, elevating carrier III2 and in theuppermost position of the latter the terminal I9 on crank arm I8 slipsinto a notch 20a in plate By rotating cam 86 the a 20 (Fig. to hold thecarrier elevated irrespective of the users grip on handle 2i. After thebread slices have been inserted through slots in the top of the housingand are resting on carrier arms i2, handle 2| may be readily rotated 90to lower the carrier and the slices thereon to normal toasting position.

Button 34 is then depressed manually to the extent permitted by cam 86and plate 81 and upon release of the pressure on button 34 spring 38pulls lever 36 to the left, but very slowly due to the clockworkescapement mechanism.

When the connection between lever 36 and link I 54 is broken by theengagement of cam 65 with thermostat finger 63, spring 38 pulls lever 36instantly to separate contact buttons 41 and 48,

thereby terminating the toasting operation. The

general arrangement for setting the timing mech anism and forautomatically opening the switch is substantially as described andclaimed in the above mentioned Letters Patent 2,112,422. At the sametime, spring arm 24 will be released from latch or detent L and thespring will rotate crank i5 to project the toast from the housing unlessstop 92 is positioned to prevent such functioning of spring 24252'l. Atany time during the toasting operation, handle 2| may be rotated toraise the toast, for inspection, and then lower it, without affectingthe automatic mechanism for timing and terminating the toastingoperation.

The above description and accompanying drawings are illustrative only ofa form of the invention which may be embodied in structure havingsubstantially differently shaped and diiferently assembled parts. Aspreviously indicated, some of the features, such as the heater control,may be embodied in other electrical equipment, waiile irons for example,and it is to be understood that the exclusive use of this and othermodifications of the invention coming within the spirit of the claims iscontemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a bread toaster, a housing inclosing a heating chamber, a slicecarrier therein, a manually operative pivotally-mounted elementpositioned exteriorly of said housing, and connections between saidelement and carrier for raising said carrier by manual rotation of saidmember to a position in which the slice is projected from the housing tofacilitate its removal with the human fingers or for lowering saidcarrier to a slice surrounding position for toasting, meansautomatically terminating the toasting operation, and a spring structureyieldingly supporting the carrier at a level between said positions,upon arm whereby said carrier may be raised by rotation of said element.

3. A toaster as described injclaim 2 in which the arm receiving slot hasan angularly disposed notch arranged to engage said arm when the carrieris in raised position and to hold it there independently of continuedmanual effort.

4. In a bread toaster, a housing inclosing a heating chamber forreceiving a vertical slice of bread, a heater therein, a control switchfor said heater, timing mechanism for operating said switch comprising atrain of gears with escapement mechanism and elements for setting thesame in action, said gears and elements being movable in a horizontalplane and being disposed beneath the bottom of said chamber, a bellcrank pivoted on a horizontal axis on said housing and comprising asubstantially horizontal leg and a substantially vertical leg, saidhorizontal leg being located a substantial distance above the bottom ofsaid chamber and having a finger piece disposed to be moved by the userdownwardly along the wall of the housing and said vertical leg extendingdownwardly through said bottom and having an operative connection tosaid gears and elements.

5. In a cooking structure, a heater, a member movable towards a positionin which it affects the action of said heater, a timing mechanism,

a connection between said mechanism and said member whereby saidmechanism may move said member as described, thermostatically controlledmeans for breaking said connection at different points in themovement'of said member, and a device automatically promptly moving.said member tosaid position when said connection is broken.

6. In a cooking structure, an electric heater, a control switchtherefor, a member movable to close and open said switch, a timingmechanism, a connection between said member and mechanism whereby saidmechanism slowly moves saidm'ember towards switch opening position, athermostat exposed to said heater and cooperating with said member tobreak said connection as said member moves towards said position, andmeans for promptly completing the movement of said member towards saidposition when said connection is broken.

7. In a cooker of the class described, an electrical heater, a controlswitch therefor, a lever the functioning of said means and independentlyof manual manipulation of the pivotally mounted element, for projectingthe slice a short distance from the housing to indicate that thetoasting operation is completed. I

2. In a bread toaster, a housing inclosing a heating chamber,transversely spaced upright rods therein near one end, a bread carrierincluding a part extending horizontally. lengthwise of said chamber andalso having an upright end member with vertically spaced bearingsslidably engaging said rods to stabilize said carrier during verticalmovement of the same on said rods, a manually rotatable elementpositioned exteriorly of said housing, a crank shaft movable by saidelement and having an offset arm adjacent said carrier end member,there'being a movable to operate said switch to different positions, aspring secured to said lever and tending to move it and said switch toone position, timing mechanism restraining such movement of said leverand including a reciprocable bar having a notch, there being a lug onsaid lever seated in said notch when said lever and bar are moved to theother switch position, said bar having a cam surface disposed at anangle to the line of its reciprocation, and a thermostat movable, whenheated, along said angle to oppose difierent portions of said camsurface and cooperate therewith to free said element from said notch.

8. In a bread toaster, a housing inclosing a heating chamber, a breadcarrier therein, a crank shaft pivoted in said housing with an armconnected to said "carrier, a spring connected to said crank shaft torotate the same to raise said carrier, a detent restraining the actionof said spring when said crank shaft is rotated manually to lower saidcarrier, and timing mechanism freeing said spring from said detent atthe completion of a toasting operation, there being a lost motionconnection between said I,

crank shaft and spring whereby said element and crank shaft may berotated manually to lift said carrier independently of said spring topermit inspection of the bread without interrupting the operation ofsaid timing mechanism.

9. In a bread toaster, a housing inclosing a heating chamber, a breadcarrier therein, a manually operable pivoted element positionedexteriorly of said housing, a crank shaft extending inwardly from saidelement and connected to said carrier to raise and lower the same. andincluding a crank arm, a spring connected to said crank arm to rotatesaid shaft to carrier raising position, the direction of thrust of saidspring against said arm being such that the leverage of said springagainst said arm is shortened and its effective thrust is decreased assaid carrier is lifted to raised position, a detent restraining theaction of said spring when said element and crank shaft are rotatedmanually to lower said carrier, and timing mechanism freeing said springfrom said detent at the completion of a toasting operation.

10. In a bread toaster, a housing with a base and a heating chamberabove said base, a bread carrier in said chamber, a wire spring with anL-shaped body portion fulcrumed near its angle to said housing and withone leg anchored at its outer end to said housing and with the other legoperatively connected at its outer end to said carrier and, when free,tending to raise the latter, there being a detent for engaging saidlatter mentioned leg to hold it against carrier-raising movement, andmeans functioning at the end of a toasting operation to free said springfrom said detent.

11. A structure as described in claim 10 in.

which the movement of the free leg of the spring over the detent isdetermined by the contour of the spring, and a lug engaging the anchoredleg of said spring between its anchorage and the spring fulcrum andmovable to vary the contour of the spring and the position of the freeleg relative to said detent.

12. In a bread toaster, a housing inclosing a heating chamber,transversely spaced upright rods therein near one end, a bread carrierincluding a part extending horizontally lengthwise of said chamber andalso having an upright end member with vertically spaced bearingsslidably engaging said rods to stabilize said carrier during verticalmovement of the same on said rods, a manually rotatable elementpositioned exteriorly of said housing, a shaft movable by said elementand having a crank arm operatively connected to said carrier wherebysaid carrier may be raised by rotation of said element.

13. In a bread toaster, a toasting chamber, a heater control comprisinga'switch, a spring actuated member for opening said switch, and aclockwork timing device including an escapement mechansim,a connectorbetween said mechanism and said member automatically engaging saidmember when said switch is closed, an element positioned in the path ofmovement of said connector for effecting disengagement of the same andsaid member as the latter moves under the thrust of said spring, and athermostat in said chamber and movable throughout the toasting period toshift the position of said element and thereby vary the length of thetoasting period.

14. A structure as described in claim '7 in which the switch controllever is provided with a series of engageable elements disposedlengthwise thereof and the lever moving spring is engaged with aselected one of said elements to vary the effective pull of the springon the lever.

15. In a bread toaster, a housing inclosing a heating chamber, spacedupright rods therein adjacent to one end wall of the housing, a breadcarrier extending lengthwise of said chamber and having an upstandingmember at one end with horizontal flanges spaced apart vertically asubstantial distancefrom each other and each flange being apertured toslidably receive both of said rods to stabilize said carrier againstvertical and horizontal twisting, and means for raising and loweringsaid carrier on said rods including a manually-rotatable member on theexterior of said housing.

16. In a bread toaster, a heater, an electric circuit for said heaterand including a switch, a spring connected tosaid switch to thrust itinto open position, a clockwork timing mechanism, a'

disengageable connection between said mechanism and switch for holdingthe latter closed temporarily against the action of said spring, and athermostat arranged to be heated by said heater and movable thereby todifferent positions during the toasting period and functioning inaccordance with its position to disengage said connection whereby saidspring may open said switch and terminate the toasting operation.

1'7. A structure as described in claim 10 which includes a stop with aninclined face movable across the path of the legof the spring con-.-nected to the bread carrier and limiting its carrier raising movement,and means for releasably holding said inclined stop in adjusted po-.

sition to vary its limitation on the movement of said spring arm.

18. In an electric toaster,- a heating chamber, a mechanism compartmentadjacent thereto, a wall between said chamber and compartment andprovided with a slot, a thermostat in said heating chamber and includingan element extending through said slot into said compartment and movablealong said slot as said thermostat is heated, from a low temperatureposition to a high temperature position, timing mechanism in i saidcompartment including a control member having a cam arranged to engagesaid element near the end of the toasting operation and to be movedthereby to terminatesaid operation, the portion of the side of said slotopposing said element when the thermostat is in low temperature positionbeing arranged at an angle to the direction of thrust of said cam whichpermits said element to yield under said thrust, and the portion of theside of said slot opposing said elementwhen the thermostat is in highertemperature position being arranged at an angle to back 1 up saidelement against the thrust thereon by said cam, whereby said controlmember is cammed by said element to terminate the toasting operation.

19. In a bread toaster, a housing, a slice carrier therein, a deviceoperating automatically to exert a thrust on said carrier tending tomove the same to project a portion of a slice thereon beyond saidhousing when the toasting operation is completed, said device includinga crank arm and aspring actuated member connected thereto, a stopengageable by said member to limit its movement and the slice projectingmovement of said carrier, said stop being movable manually to differentpositions to engage the cooperating portion of said member to limit themovement of the latter.

20. In a bread toaster, a housing, a slice carrier therein, a deviceoperating automatically to exert a thrust on said carrier tending tomove the same to project a portion of a slice thereon beyond saidhousing when the toasting operation is completed, said device includingan arm moved when said carrier is moved, and a stop engaged by said armto limit movement of the latter and thereby limit the movement of saidcarrier, said stop being shiftable manually to different positions toengage said arm at different points and thereby control the positioningof the latter and said carrier under the thrust of said device.

21. In an electric toaster, a heater, a flexible thermostat subject toheat from said heater and having a part movable in one direction as thethermostat is heated, a backing element extend ing in said directionalongside of said part, a device for terminating the toasting period andincluding an actuating member with a cam face movable into engagementwith said part to thrust it towards said element, said element having aportion substantially parallel and closely adjacent to the path ofmovement of said thermostat part as said thermostat is heated, and alsohaving a portion spaced from said part when said thermostat is cool,whereby said thermostat, when cool, may be moved by said member andthereby prolon the toasting period, but when said thermostatjjisrelatively hot, it will be held by said element against movement by saidmember and thereby cam the latter to terminate the toasting operation.

22. In an apparatus of the class described, a heater, a thermostathaving a portion movable when the thermostat is heated, a timingmechanism, a part actuated thereby and having a camlike element movablein a path towards said thermostat portion as time elapses andterminating the toasting operation when moved transversely of said path,said thermostat portion being movable transversely of the cam face ofsaid element whereby said portion may be engaged by said element atvarying time intervals according to the temperature of said thermostatand thereby tend to guide said element transversely of said path, saidthermostat portion being inherently flexible under the thrust of saidelement, and means cooperating with said thermostat portion only after asubstantial initial heating of the thermostat to form a backing for saidportion to resist the thrust of said part in said path whereby iurthermovement of said element by said mechanism will cause said element tomove transversely of said path.

PAUL J. McCULLOUGH.

